Creamy Kale and Turkey Sausage Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes

This Creamy Kale and Turkey Sausage Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes is definitely one of my new favorites! It’s been a while since I’ve shared a pasta recipe so I thought I should catch up, and since it’s been a while it had better be good! Oh and it is.

I love this pasta so much I want to make it every week. And confession, I was skeptical about turkey sausage, but I wanted to make this pasta lighter so I decided to give it a chance. I liked it just as much as any Italian pork sausage and it’s likely going to replace it in many recipes I make the majority of the time. I can’t wait to try it in this Zuppa Toscana Soup.

Just a word of advice, buy the larger jar of sun dried tomatoes so you can use half for this recipe then use the other half for this irresistible Sun Dried Tomato Basil Hummus. It is seriously amazing!

You are going to love this pasta and since it uses plenty of fresh kale, turkey sausage and a lighter cream sauce you can feel good about eating it!

Yield: About 4 servings

Ingredients

• 12 oz (about 3 3/4 cups) dry penne pasta
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb Italian turkey sausage links (about 4 sausage links), casings removed, sausage crumbled (hot or mild, not sweet)
• 10 sun dried tomatoes in oil (1/2 cup), drained, patted dry with paper towels, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bunch (8 oz) kale, thick ribs removed, chopped (4 cups packed)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

• Cook pasta according to directions on package, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water for the pasta sauce.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add in sun dried tomatoes and garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add in chicken broth and scrape bottom of pan to deglaze browned bits. Add kale, cook and toss occasionally until wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• While kale is cooking, in a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook stirring constantly 1 minute. While whisking slowly pour in milk and whisk vigorously to smooth lumps. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until mixture beings to bubble and thicken. Remove from heat, stir in cream and parmesan cheese. Pour milk mixture into sausage mixture along with drained pasta and toss to evenly coat. Stir in up to 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to reach desired consistency (as it sits the pasta will being to soak up the sauce so you can thin it out as needed with that pasta water). Serve warm.
• Recipe source: Cooking Classy